Jacana Media has suspended Publicist Oageng Tsatsi for airing her personal views concerning Laugh It Off, one of the company’s clients. Tsatsi was responding to Ruan Kemp’s Hermafrotiet image, in which Julius Malema’s head and male genitals have been superimposed over the body of Sara Baartman.
Laugh It Off responded to the debacle with their usual light-heartedness, publishing a letter from Saartjie Baartman Ltd. which demands a public apology from all involved.
Publicist Oageng Tsatsi was suspended and given a letter of warning by her employer, Jacana Media, for bringing the company into disrepute.Jacana, based in Johannesburg, publishes the annual of satire company Laugh It Off, and Tsatsi was also found guilty of damaging company business.
At the time, the image of Sara Baartman’s body featuring male genitalia and Julius Malema’s head was posted on the Laugh It Off website, Tsatsi wrote: “I am shocked - is this allowed? Is it even funny?”
Your idea to depict Saartjie Baartman with the male genitalia and smiling face of Julius Malema has caused enormous hurt and pain to the collective family of South Africans with emphasis on the Indigenous People (Khoi-San, Griqua, Coloured and Malay). Can you imagine hat would happen if we made fun of Anglo-Boer War: Koos de la Rey?
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November 27th, 2009 @10:52 #
I think Jacana have made a mistake here. Sure, as a publicist she should have spun a better response, but now the bad publicity is on Jacana, for punishing an employee for expressing her opinion. That's just not book publishing.
November 27th, 2009 @17:21 #
I couldn't agree more, Michelle. Big mistake from Jacana. Big, big mistake. And it's their second this year (at least) - the first being that publicity stunt at the CTBF that backfired so badly.
November 27th, 2009 @19:16 #
It's a sticky situation alright. Oageng Tsatsi was probably in contractual breach -- but there isn't a salary in the world that can buy someone's conscience (well, actually I think that is the exact objective of those humungous salaries in certain corporate and govt circles) -- but you know what I mean.
November 27th, 2009 @21:21 #
From a PR point of view, it's better to be the maverick publisher with the free-thinking, controversial employees than the heavy-handed Big Bro who suppresses freedom of speech.